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Running a few (a small numbers of) kilometers each day is good for our health. However, new research says running too much could be bad for us. Running long distances regularly for many years could make our life shorter, not longer. The study is from the Minneapolis Heart Institute.

A researcher said too much running can create plaque inside your heart. This can lead to (cause) heart disease. He wrote that running too much for many years takes away (removes) the good things from exercise. He added (also said) that the risk of heart disease, or of dying of coronary disease (a kind of heart disease) could be the same as someone who never exercised.

Researchers looked at the health and training (physical activities; exercises) of 3,300 runners over (above; higher than) the age of 35. Seventy per cent of them ran over 30 kilometers a week. Men who ran marathons for 25 years had 62% more plaque in their heart than men who did little or no exercise.

Another doctor said he feelscheated (thinks it was unfair to him because he didn’t get what he wanted). He started running marathons and doing *triathlons in 1967. He used to run (always ran) 60 kilometers every week. He said: “I thought I was out there exhausting myself (making myself tired), building (to build, to create) an absolutely (completely) indestructible heart.” The doctor advised people to (said people should) exercise regularly but not to overdo it (do work hard so that they become tired).